Kukla's Korner Hockey

NEW YORK (January 11, 2011) – The National Hockey League today announced the additional 36 All-Stars and 12 Rookies who will join fan-voted top six Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, in Raleigh for the 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend festivities.

The 42 All-Stars will play in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game presented by Discover on Sunday, Jan. 30 at the RBC Center. Each team will be comprised of 3 goalies, 6 defensemen and 12 forwards and will have one captain and two alternates to be chosen by the players and announced next week. The 12 NHL Rookies, along with the 42 All-Stars, will participate in the Honda NHL SuperSkills® on Sat., Jan. 29 at the RBC Center.

As previously announced, the NHL, working in conjunction with the National Hockey League Players’ Association, replaced the traditional conference vs. conference format for the All-Star teams with a player draft that will determine the team rosters for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game presented by Discover as well as the Honda NHL SuperSkills®. The Jan. 28 NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft powered by Cisco will be televised live nationwide on TSN and RDS in Canada and VERSUS in the U.S. at 8 p.m. ET from NHL Fan Fair™ at the Raleigh Convention Center.

A coin toss will decide first pick with the team captains, joined by their two alternate captains, alternately drafting the 36 remaining All-Stars through 18 rounds. Each team will consist of three goalies, six defensemen and 12 forwards total. For sake of fairness in the draft, the captain and alternate captains for each team will consist of two forwards and one defenseman. Also, to ensure that the final draft picks are true selections and not simply predetermined due to position requirements, each team’s three goalies must be picked by the end of Round 10 and each team’s six defensemen must be picked by the conclusion of Round 15.

The 12 Rookies participating in the Honda NHL SuperSkills® will be divided by the NHL into two groups of six. At the completion of the 15th round of the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft powered by Cisco, one NHL Rookie will be selected to choose which All-Star team his group will join for the skills competition. Details on fan access to the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft powered by Cisco will be announced in the coming weeks.

2011 NHL All-Star Weekend

The 2011 NHL All-Star Game presented by Discover will mark the first time Carolina has hosted NHL All-Star activities. The excitement begins on Friday, Jan. 28 with the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft powered by Cisco and televised live nationwide on TSN and RDS in Canada and VERSUS in the U.S. at 8 p.m. ET from NHL Fan Fair™ at the Raleigh Convention Center. On Saturday, Jan. 29, the players will take the ice in the Honda NHL SuperSkills® at the RBC Center. The League’s mid-season spectacular concludes with the 58th NHL All-Star Game presented by Discover at the RBC Center on Sunday, Jan. 30. Live television coverage of both nights will be provided by VERSUS in the U.S. and CBC and RDS in Canada, with the Honda NHL SuperSkills® at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday and the 2011 NHL All-Star Game presented by Discover at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday. Fans in Raleigh are encouraged to take part in the festivities at NHL Fan Fair™, a three-day fan festival at the Raleigh Convention Center, January 28-30.

Are you kidding? I’m ecstatic he didn’t make the team. I imagine the majority of Wings fans are as well.

Woohoo! I’m a majority!

Pierre LeBrun had a tweet a bit ago about how some players ask their GMs to tell the league to kindly not select them. I’m betting Zetterberg fits into that category. He’s fighting back problems this season and needs the rest.

Pierre LeBrun had a tweet a bit ago about how some players ask their GMs to tell the league to kindly not select them. I’m betting Zetterberg fits into that category. He’s fighting back problems this season and needs the rest.

If that’s the case, that might explain the strangest thing to me about these selections, which is Patrick Kane’s presence over, say, Mike Richards, Zetterberg, Briere, Stastny or a whole host of other guys having better years.

Doesn’t really explain Mike Green being on here over about 30 more capable D, but I suppose the NHL was trying to avoid a whiny blog post from Leonsis lamenting his single All-Star had Green not been included.

Bummer that Lidstrom got tapped to play in the Bettman Classic. I’m glad the Wings will have time to rest and practice (they should have some centers returning from injury around that time and can get their chemistry back).

So, apparently the Rookies can count as a teams only representative, as Ennis is Buffalo’s only player. That being said, how does Hemsky make this team? There are 2 Oilers rookies on the team, and Hemsky has only played in 27 games thus far and recored 24 points. Not really All Star calibre numbers. I don’t care if Zetterberg is on the team or not either, but how Hemsky is on there baffles me. Off the top of my head, more deserving All Stars than Hemsky: Zetterberg, Heatley, Havlat, Backstrom, Stastny, M. Richards. As for Zetterberg, at 6th in the league in scoring, he is the only player in the top 17 in scoring not on the team…

Posted by
John W.
from a bubble wrap cocoon on 01/11/11 at 02:07 PM ET

It’s also funny that there are no Islanders.

Posted by StevieSteve on 01/11/11 at 12:00 PM ET

Isles, Panthers, Sabres, and Coyotes are all represented by rookies who will play in the Honda Super Skills, but not the game itself. That’s how they keep their promise that every team will be represented.

It is a little curious, I suppose, that he didn’t make the team—just for the sake of balance. I mean, does it make sense that the Hawks—represented by four players—get to send Patrick Kane (33 points in 35 games) while the Red Wings—represented by only one—don’t send Zetterberg (49 points in 43 games)? Same deal with Vancouver, though Kesler is certainly very, very deserving.

Again, it’s just as well that he’s not there. More time to rest. And honestly, if the all-star game is just a fun little event for kids and sponsors, it makes sense to give every team at least one player—but for the extras, give precedence to rising stars, players from non-traditional markets, and from markets that have had a recent influx of new fans (such as Chicago).

The NHL has probably figured by now that the old, curmudgeony fanbase in Detroit doesn’t care about the game no matter how many Red Wings are playing, so why waste additional roster spots on them? Give those spots to players in markets with a higher “growth potential.”

If this is the kind of logic that goes into the NHL’s player selections, and I suspect it is, I’m totally fine with it. Give the all-star game to the fanbases that still care about it, or still have some growing to do.

The NHL has probably figured by now that the old, curmudgeony fanbase in Detroit doesn’t care about the game no matter how many Red Wings are playing, so why waste additional roster spots on them? Give those spots to players in markets with a higher “growth potential.”

Shame for the Sabres to get lumped in with three failing franchises. Solid hockey market considering all the bad luck the fanbase has had to put up with.

Then again, Roy’s hurt, Vanek’s vanished, Leopold is a third pairing D on a good team and Miller’s having an off year (mostly because Buffalo’s best defenseman this year is, as I said, a 5 or 6 on a good team), so I don’t really know who the NHL could have picked from Buff.

Because Giroux is having a breakout year? He had 16 goals and 47 points in 82 games last year…he has already has 16 and 36 in 41 games this year. I think he has a million short handed goals, too. A million.

I’m pretty sure the Flyers and/or their fans had a write-in campaign for him the way Penguins/fans did for Letang, also.

Richards, Carter or Briere would’ve been good picks, though, too. Like, say, instead of Ales Hemsky (REALLY?) or Kane. Maybe they had to make sure the East/West selections were even, though? I haven’t counted…

Posted by
SYF
from the C7.R, flyin' low and feelin' mean on 01/11/11 at 04:15 PM ET

Only ones to lose out here will be fans in Ottawa, as Lidstrom can serve his one game “Bettman” suspension missing the Feb. 2 against the Sens.
Posted by mc keeper on 01/11/11 at 01:39 PM ET

Holy shit you’re right. I paid good money for good seats to that goddamn game so I could see the greatest D-man of the past two decades play hockey, and I’m going get screwed out of seeing him because Bettman wants him to partake in this fuching circus.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry about something… !@#$!@#$!#!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by
sjketcheson
from the floor of the Hasek on 01/11/11 at 04:18 PM ET

I hope Crosby is still out by the time this ASG is played. A big FU to the league.

Posted by gretzky_to_lemieux on 01/11/11 at 01:25 PM ET

The NHL does everything it can to coddle Crosby. What happened that would warrant a “big FU”? I don’t get it.

Posted by
WingsFanInBeanLand
from where free agents no longer dare. on 01/11/11 at 09:27 PM ET

Maybe they’ll make hurt players attend and sign autographs? no, that’d be insane. Those players should be resting, not playing in Gary’s Dog and Pony show parade edition.